Lou Cocody-Valentino

Lou Cocody-Valentino (1994, Martinique) is a French artist who lives and works in Brussels. Her visual language is rooted in memories of her childhood as an islander. Her work questions a personal geography, unfolding in composite installations. Her process is a reflection on colour, composition and the translucence of materials. Lou experiments with found materials through a variety of techniques: sculpture, vegetable dyeing, screenprinting… She aims to create a porous body of work that addresses the influence of territories and landscapes on identity.

Lou’s most recent works focus on the representation of aquatic landscapes, as she sees the seas and oceans as a universal terrain for dialogue. It’s the space that connects us: the “in-between islands” of her Archipelago. These works form an ensemble that she calls underwaterscapes, and are made mostly from pigmented paper pulp. Layers of this recycled material accumulate, just as layers of sediment form reliefs. These pieces are inspired by the underwater landscapes the artist has observed over the years during dives in the Caribbean Sea.

Lou obtained degrees in Printmaking from ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels and in Visual Arts from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University. She was part of the inaugural POC POC mentorship programme by The Constant Now in 2022. She has presented her work in exhibitions such as: What’s Your Gray Zone, SEPTIEME Gallery, Paris; Garage Piscine, Recyclart, Brussels (both 2023); Freetown Pt. 2, Fire is Gold, Antwerp; Zomer in de Kloostertuin, Kunsthal Extra City & MORPHO, Antwerp; Currents #9 - Mother(Land), Z33, Hasselt (all 2022).